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The numbers tell you how many cells to fill. They never tell you where — that part is yours, and a picture appears once you have it.
1 1 1 beside a row means three single cells with at least one gap between each. 3 means three in an unbroken line. The numbers are in order, left to right along a row and top to bottom down a column.
Here every number has been satisfied, so every clue has faded — and what is left is a face.
2 1 is two, then a gap of at least one, then one. The second row above looks like it has three filled cells in the right order, but with no gap they read as a single run of 3 — a different clue entirely.
Switch to Cross and mark the cells you have worked out are empty. Here a run of three in five cells cannot reach either end once both ends are ruled out — so the middle three must be filled, and you can see it rather than hold it in your head.
Crosses are never checked and never required. Put them wherever they help.
The moment a row or column has all the cells its clue asked for, that clue fades. You never have to recount a line to find out whether you are done with it — the board keeps the tally.
Every picture here was solved by pure line-by-line reasoning before it shipped, and any drawing that needed a guess — or that had a second valid answer — was thrown away. Whatever the board looks like, there is always a next cell you can prove.
So a cell you fill that is not in the picture is a slip rather than bad luck. It is crossed off for you straight away, it costs a star, and nothing else is spoiled.